1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the salon/barber industry, and more specifically to a neck support for a hard surface sink in the beauty industry.
2. Related Art
Hairstylists often use a specially designed sink to shampoo or rinse chemicals out of their clients' hair. These sinks typically have a curved indentation in the lip in order to allow the person whose hair is being washed/colored to comfortably rest his/her head on the lip of the sink.
All barber/cosmetologist sinks have a very hard surface, typically hard plastic, marble or fiberglass. As a result, it may not be comfortable for a client to rest his/her neck on the lip of the sink for any length of time, and it may even cause neck pain. A cushion (sometimes referred to as a neck guard) is often placed on the lip of the sink at the indentation in order to make the client more comfortable.
Conventional cushions are thick pieces of foam that are molded so that they fit over the indentation in the lip of the sink. The foam must be thick in order to enable the cushion to maintain its shape and thereby maintain its position in the indentation. Because conventional neck guards are normally very thick, they may cause the client's head to rest at an uncomfortable angle. If the client has problems with his or her neck, this may be so uncomfortable as to be intolerable. It is even the case that neck pain has been medically linked to long-term use of shampoo basins. Conventional neck guards place the neck in an unnatural position that can, over time, potentially lead to serious medical conditions.
A conventional neck guard is typically stiff and does not conform well to the shape of the client's neck, or to the shapes of sinks that are not exactly the same as the one for which the neck guard was designed. Since the neck guard does not conform well to the client's neck, it typically allows water and other liquids to run down the neck and back of the client, causing discomfort and potentially ruining the client's clothes. Because the neck guard may not conform well to the sink, liquids may run underneath the neck guard, causing it to slip out of position. This problem is aggravated by the fact that conventional neck guards are relatively lightweight, weighing only between ¼ pound and ½ pound. It should also be noted that, if the neck guard does not conform exactly to the shape of the sink, flexing of the neck guard may cause the one material from which it is constructed to tear, allowing liquids to soak into the neck guard. This reduces the useful life of the neck guard and may also create an unsanitary condition. These problems have lead many hairstylists to simply use towels instead of conventional neck guards.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an improved neck guard which reduces or eliminates one or more of the foregoing problems with conventional neck guards.